|
|
James Van Der Beek's Bio
Fate certainly
played a hand in James Van Der Beek's entrance into the acting world, but it was his
dedication and talent that earned leading roles in "Dawson's Creek" and two
provocative new films - "I Love You...I Love You Not" and "Harvest."
Suffering a mild concussion in his eight grade gym class (playing touch football) when he
was 13 years old, the athletic Van Der Beek wasn't permitted to play on the football team
that year. So, for the first time, he decided to try out for the school play and landed
the lead role of Danny Zuko in the school's production of "Grease." Bitten by
the acting bug, he continued to do local children's theater in his hometown of Cheshire,
Conn. He was still focused on acting at age 16, so his mother agreed one summer to travel
the three hours each way to New York City in order for him to pursue acting
professionally. While he landed an agent and a manager on their very first visit, he
didn't find much success auditioning for commercials. The next year, he was cast in the
Off-Broadway play, "Finding the Sun," which was written and directed by Edward
Albee. He describes this as the defining experience for him as an actor, and commuted six
hours every day during the limited three-month run for rehearsals and performances in the
middle of high school. After that experience, he starred in "Shenandoah" at the
Goodspeed Opera House. His first on-screen performance came with a starring role in the
1995 feature film "Angus," and he is featured in the upcoming release "I
Love You...I Love You Not" with Claire Danes. Last summer, he completed the
independent feature film "Harvest." A dean's list student, Van Der Beek received
an academic scholarship from Drew University in Madison, N.J., where he majors in English
with a minor in sociology. Not having as much luck his freshman year, he decided to take
six weeks off and backpack through Europe. When he came back it picked back up for him and
here he is! In what little free time he has, he enjoys writing and playing all kinds of
sports.
